


we don't need to land, just take my hand and let's fly

by firstlove_latespring



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bookworm Jeon Wonwoo, Costumes, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, Jeon Wonwoo is Whipped, Lee Seokmin is Whipped, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mentioned Boo Seungkwan, Mentioned Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Minor Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Minor Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, No Angst, Peter Pan References, Surprise! - Freeform, also bookworm lee seokmin, blink and u miss haoshua, im soft baby huhu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23448457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstlove_latespring/pseuds/firstlove_latespring
Summary: Now this is something I haven’t seen before,Wonwoo thinks to himself.A boy about Wonwoo’s age walks in and smiles at him, and it’s enough to knock Wonwoo off his feet. His smile is warm and dazzling coupled with a handsome and earnest face that has been decorated with a few beauty marks. What sends Wonwoo back to earth is the fact that the very handsome boy is in a full on Peter Pan costume. The green tights and feathered hat is something that Wonwoo would recognize anywhere.~In which Wonwoo has seen some peculiar things in the past two years of working at the local convenience store but this might be the nicest weird boy he's ever encountered.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Lee Seokmin | DK
Comments: 10
Kudos: 129
Collections: Seventeen Rare Pair Fest: Round 1





	we don't need to land, just take my hand and let's fly

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SVTRarePairFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SVTRarePairFest) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> gas station cashier wonwoo meets theater boy seokmin when he walks in to the store one day in complete peter pan attire. wonwoo assumes he's a weirdo but the boy has a nice smile so he doesn't question the green tights.
> 
> ~
> 
> the title is from the [english version of rocket performed at kcon ny 2019](https://youtu.be/n0Hi62UOUow)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Wonwoo has seen some peculiar things in the past two years of working at the local convenience store. 

Not that he’s complaining. It’s a pretty decent job that pays enough for him to afford things like the good brands of ramen, and new books or games occasionally. He gets to sit and study his textbooks and do homework when things are slow. All he has to do is put on a pink vest, hit the coffee machine on the side sometimes when it gets too loud and doesn’t want to do its job, and be nice to the customers. 

He even gets to play his beloved IU playlist on the overhead speakers. The small weird things he has to witness now and then is bearable and adds a little spice to his otherwise repetitive routine of studying and working.

For one thing, the convenience store is the closest to his university. He’s seen all kinds of drunks: the sad ones, the flirty ones, the ones who believe that clothes are a social construct, the ones at 10 in the morning. Another thing is the breakups. He’s seen his fair share of people getting dumped in the ramen aisle. It’s not the best way to end a relationship but he’s sure there are always worse ways.

Wonwoo thinks he’s seen it all: students having stressed induced crying sessions in front of their kimbap selection, kids with fake IDs, vloggers, idols with their trying masks high and caps low to try and keep a low profile, aunties wanting to marry him off to their grandkids. He’s unfortunately also seen his best friends Soonyoung and Jun makeout in front of the hotdog grill. 

You name it, he’s probably seen it.

And ever since he’s picked up the later night shifts, things only get stranger after 10. He usually spares a glance towards whoever’s coming in and then after greeting them, returns his attention to whatever he was reading or playing on his phone. Wonwoo’s seen so many unusual things than they’ve become normal for him. He tries his best not to be judgmental and put on a nice expression but it’s a struggle when he just naturally has an intense blank expression. 

He barely bats an eye as he watches the boy with feline eyes with a guitar strapped to his back and the other boy with a mullet and baggy jeans that have been drawn on walk-off giggling to themselves with two bottles of their pricier wine.

Wonwoo sighs, checking the time and finding that he has 2 hours left on his shift. He opens up his book about a cat with no name and lets it swallow him up for a few minutes. His head perks up when he hears the bell ring and stands up to greet whoever’s coming in through the door.

 _Now this is something I haven’t seen before_ , Wonwoo thinks to himself. 

A boy about Wonwoo’s age walks in and smiles at him, and it’s enough to knock Wonwoo off his feet. His smile is warm and dazzling coupled with a handsome and earnest face that has been decorated with a few beauty marks. What sends Wonwoo back to earth is the fact that the very handsome boy is in a full-on Peter Pan costume. The green tights and feathered hat is something that Wonwoo would recognize anywhere. The tights live up to their name over the boy’s thick legs and Wonwoo resists the urge to stare for too long unless he wants to come off as a total creep.

“Um,” Wonwoo says, meeting the boy’s gaze, “Hello…”

“Hello!” Peter Pan grins in return, covering his phone’s receiver. His voice is honey-sweet but strong and it makes Wonwoo think of the power ballads on his playlists. To his phone, he says: “I’ll call you back in a bit, Kwannie. Don’t worry. I got you.”

He’s the type of gorgeous and charming that Wonwoo always falls for and Wonwoo is already dizzy just existing in the same room as him.

“Hey, I wanted to ask if you guys have Chicken Pop?” Peter Pan asks as he approaches the counter. Wonwoo isn’t sure how he isn’t melting. As he comes closer, Wonwoo can see the lines on his face as he keeps the smile on his face, evident of years spent in of happiness. “My friend says he saw a few packs here the other day and today he’s craving for them. We used to eat them all the time back in cram school.”

 _That’s cute_ , Wonwoo wants to say. He points to the chips aisle. “There are probably some over there but we don’t get a lot of it in stock so I’m not sure if we still have that much.”

“Oh thank you!” How can this boy beam at Wonwoo as if he just made his day? Wonwoo feels unworthy to be standing in the same plane of space as this stunning stranger. 

He hopes that the boy doesn’t feel how Wonwoo’s gaze lingers on him, and how he’s still in disbelief that someone decides to put such a good-natured and beefy man into a costume meant for a children’s book character. He manages to suppress a gasp as he watches Peter Pan reach for a pack with a pleased “Aha!”, his sizable biceps barely covered up by his sleeves. Wonwoo feels shameful for practically drooling over this man and whips his head away to look at the clock. It’s almost half past 10.

“You know, I think I’ve seen you around before,” Peter Pan approaches the counter with an armful of Chicken Pop packs. 

He doesn’t dump everything in front of Wonwoo the way other people usually do and sets everything down with a gentleness that pleasantly surprises Wonwoo. This boy has a controlled carefulness to him that seems so natural and effortless.

“Me?” Wonwoo answers after realizing what Peter Pan had just said. He starts to scan the packs one by one. The computer chirps at everyone. “You go to SU too?”

“Yeah, I do. I’m a junior but I’m from the performing arts department. I major in theater.” Peter Pan tells him this while he pulls out his wallet from his pocket. It’s a simple worn and visibly well-loved brown leather wallet. He opens it to show a photo of what looks like his family and an abundance of brightly colored cards on the inside. Wonwoo’s heart gushes at the adorable sight. 

“I’ve seen you on campus, I think. Maybe a few months ago at the beginning of the semester. Your hair was longer and curlier. And you were near the field feeding the stray cats who hang around there.” 

Wonwoo looks up at him after the last snack has been scanned and bagged. That was probably him. He always kept snacks for the cats on campus and his hair was exactly that style a while ago. Wonwoo feels himself color and looks away in shyness, his hands clutching the plastic bag in front of him. Peter Pan must sense Wonwoo’s awkwardness because he’s suddenly letting out a small nervous laugh before biting his lip and scratching his nape.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I think I made things weird,” Peter Pan apologizes, his handsome features suddenly turning bashful. He smiles but it’s a bit more hesitant. “You can forget what I said and I can go before I embarrass myself any more than I’ve already.”

“No!” Wonwoo exclaims, startling them both in the process. They lock eyes, both wide but wanting to still hold each other’s gazes. Peter Pan blushes and Wonwoo knows he’s pink to match. “Wait, what I mean is… Yes, that was probably me. My friend peer pressured me into getting my hair permed because he was getting his hair bleached. So it was probably me because I do feed the cats and I had curly hair a while ago.”

“Oh,” Peter Pan nods, a slow smile creeping onto his face once more. “Sorry if I made it weird.”

“You’re fine,” Wonwoo assures him with a smile. It must be the right thing to do because the grin on Peter Pan’s face turns into a full-fledged one, so wide that his eyes turn into delightful little crescents as it makes space for the lines of his smile. “My name’s Wonwoo. I’m from the biology department because I major in botany.”

“I’m Seokmin,” he properly introduces himself with a tip of a little green hat. “You’ve probably never noticed me on campus.”

“Not if you weren’t wearing that,” Wonwoo says, making a vague hand gesture towards Seokmin’s getup. “If you were, I would’ve remembered your little hat.”

Seokmin laughs like a church bell, ringing pure and loud and it’s a glorious thing to hear.

“I _wish_ I could wear this all the time,” Seokmin admits, pulling out a few bills from his wallet, “These tights are so comfy. I can never find pants that fit me right.”

“Me, neither,” Wonwoo replies, grinning to himself while counting Seokmin’s cash and giving him his receipt and change. “What’s up with the costume anyway? Isn’t it a little too late for Halloween?”

Seokmin laughs again and Wonwoo decides that it’s now his favorite song. And he wants to listen to it on repeat.

“Can’t a man dress up as a book character whenever he wants?” Seokmin challenges. He then laughs and the way his the corners of his eyes crinkle as he grins is a blessing to Wonwoo’s existence.

“Why Peter Pan though? Is it your favorite book?” Wonwoo asks. He’s a bookworm after all and this question may or may not make or break it for him and his attraction towards Seokmin.

“Not really. I preferred the animated movie more.” Seokmin tells him, fiddling with the hat on his head, “My favorite book since I was a kid is Arthur Conan Doyle’s _The Hounds of Baskerville_. I really like detective novels especially Sherlock Holmes but I also enjoy magic realism.”

Wonwoo’s heart does a thing. It jumps ten feet into the air in glee. Seokmin has checked off all the boxes on Wonwoo’s list and they’ve only known each other for less than an hour. Cupid’s hit their mark on Wonwoo, right on target.

“Wow, I mean…” Wonwoo is completely enamored. “Me too. I read Murakami’s _Kafka on the Shore_ over the weekend and now I’m reading this.”

He retrieves his copy of Natsume’s _I Am a Cat_ from behind the counter to show Seokmin. Wonwoo doesn’t know how it’s possible but Seokmin’s eyes light up more, dazzling and bright. 

“I haven’t read that yet but it’s on my to-read list,” he tells Wonwoo, eyes full of mirth. Wonwoo wouldn’t mind spending a whole day just gazing into them. “But you have to tell me if it ends well!”

“Sure,” Wonwoo grins, elated at the idea of having future conversations with Seokmin. “You should also get to telling me why you’re dressed in that.”

“Oh right!” Seokmin’s grin turns a little sheepish but it doesn’t lose its sparkle. “We’re having fittings for the spring play. We’re staging Peter Pan if that wasn’t already obvious.”

“And you’re playing him,” Wonwoo nods. Seokmin grows a lot more sheepish and it’s honestly very endearing to see. He does seem like the type to be humble. “Congratulations on playing the lead.”

“Thank you,” Seokmin lets out a nervous chuckle. He looks grateful to have received a compliment. “I’m alternating with my friend Seungkwan. The person I’m buying Chicken Pop for.”

“Ah,” Wonwoo suddenly remembers the plastic bag on the counter. He picks it up and hands it over to Seokmin. “Sorry for taking up your time. They must be looking for you already.”

“No, don’t worry. Our break is around forty minutes long.” Seokmin checks his phone for the time. “And I have 10 minutes left.”

“Do your rehearsals usually last this late into the night?” Wonwoo inquires. Their hands briefly touch when Seokmin takes the bag from him but the contact makes them smile at each other.

“Only on Mondays and Wednesdays. We should end at 12 but that’s not always the case.” Seokmin explains.

Wonwoo opens his mouth to tell Seokmin that his shift ends around the same time but the ringing of Seokmin’s phone beats him to it.

“Sorry,” Seokmin apologizes, “Let me answer this really quickly.”

“Sure.” Wonwoo nods.

“Hey, Kwannie,” Seokmin begins, pressing his phone to his ear. “Yeah, I got some. Yeah.” He takes a brief glance at Wonwoo. “I did. I promise I did! I’ll be there in a bit. Okay. See you.”

“That must be your friend,” Wonwoo says.

“Yeah,” Seokmin confirms. He looks so strange with his cellphone and the plastic bag of chips in his hands while he’s still in his all green character ensemble. “I guess I gotta go.”

“Right,” Wonwoo’s hands fidget, sleeves falling over them. “It was nice talking to you, Seokmin. We’ll see each other around, right?”

“Right,” Seokmin parrots. His eyes look both expectant and as if he wants to say something. His phone chimes and his resolve falters. “I’ll go now.”

“Alright,” Wonwoo says but what he wants to say is stay a little longer here with me. “Take care.”

“You too,” Seokmin gives him one last smile and Wonwoo hopes that it’ll be enough to tide him over for the rest of the week. Or at least until he sees Seokmin again.

Seokmin nods and slowly turns to walk to the door. Wonwoo sighs as quietly as he can. He can’t do this. He needs to see Seokmin again. 

“Actually—”

“Seokmin, wait—”

“Oh, you can go first.”

“No, no, go ahead. Please.”

“Well, okay um,” Seokmin bites his lip as he makes his way back to the counter. “My sister owns a bookstore.”

Wonwoo nods, going along, glad to have Seokmin near him and talking to him some more. 

“It’s around SWU, which isn’t that far from here but you’d have to take the train if you wanna get there in less than half an hour. It’s a nice small place next to his cafe and camera repair shop.” Wonwoo is hanging off of every word that’s coming out of Seokmin’s mouth, eager to see where this is going. Seokmin continues to ramble. “It’s in one of those inner streets so it’s not the easiest to find but I know my way there pretty well by now. Noona plays IU too. She’s always playing A Flower Bookmark 2. And I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think you’d like it there.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Wonwoo agrees, waiting for whatever else Seokmin has to say. He’s smiling because he thinks he knows where this will lead to. “It sounds great. I could go sometime on my day off.”

“Yeah, maybe you could go with me.” Seokmin offers with another nervous laugh. Wonwoo finds it a little funny that for someone whose older sister owns a bookstore, Seokmin is quite the open book himself. “Or if that’s weird or not your thing, you can forget what I said. Really. It’s okay.”

“Like on a date?” Wonwoo asks. He says it before he can think twice. The last word in Wonwoo’s question is enough to make them both turn pink in the face. 

“I mean, if you want it to?” Seokmin’s voice turns up a pitch, with another smile growing on his face. “I wouldn’t mind. I’d like that. I’d like it a lot.”

“Yeah? Me too.” Wonwoo bows down his head to grin. He can’t believe this. When he looks up, Seokmin’s smile is back on full blast. His eyes crinkling in delight.

“Then it’s a date then,” he beams. Seokmin opens up his phone and hands it to Wonwoo. “Can I have your number then?”

“Yes, of course,” Wonwoo’s all smiles now and takes Seokmin’s phone from his hands. He types in his number and name before sending himself a text. “What’s your last name?”

“Lee. Lee Seokmin.” 

“Lee Seokmin,” Wonwoo repeats, liking the way his name sounds when he speaks it. He sends his name to his phone and as he’s about to return Seokmin’s phone, a text message pops up.

 **Bboo:** So have you asked cute cat glasses guy out yet?  
**Bboo:** And where’s my chicken pop im hangy >:(  
**Bboo:** Make him watch the play!!!!

“Aww you think I’m cute,” Wonwoo teases Seokmin as he passes him his phone back. Seokmin lets out a loud jumpy laugh. His voice jumps pitch again. “I might have said it once… Or twice…”

Wonwoo is of course flattered and he can feel his nose scrunch up as he laughs at Seokmin. Seokmin is beaming once more, equally as charmed as Wonwoo. He clears his throat. “I mean, you are. Cute. Very cute.”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Lee Seokmin,” Wonwoo tells him, in a confident tone that surprises even him once he’s said it. He feels the earlier nervousness fade away. It’s comfortable to talk to Seokmin. Wonwoo doesn’t want to waste time beating around the bush any longer. “So I’ll see you and your green tights sometime this week?”

Seokmin laughs and Wonwoo feels light, feels right. “Only if you wear your pink vest too.”

“It’s a date,” Wonwoo confirms. The grin he gets from Seokmin is already a prize in itself and Wonwoo can't believe he'll be seeing more of it.

Seokmin looks as if he wants to linger and stay longer but they’re both startled out of their little bubble of reverie by Seokmin’s phone piping up with rapid notifications and the bell by the door chiming, followed by a pair of girls with matching pink and blue heads of hair wearing sweats coming it. Wonwoo greets them quickly before looking back at Seokmin.

“I’ll see you soon. Take care, Seokmin.” Wonwoo tells him. He’s floating at the idea of seeing Seokmin again and again and again. The smile on Seokmin’s face tells him that he’s feeling the same way.

“I’m going now! For real! See you!” Seokmin is skipping out the door waving goodbye. 

Wonwoo waves back until he can’t see the green of Seokmin’s outfit anymore. Wonwoo sighs happily, a dumb grin he can’t get rid of sits on his face even when one of the girls approaches the counter and tells him that the coffee machine isn’t dispensing coffee. Wonwoo is smiling to himself as he smacks the old metal thing until it pours coffee for the girls.

The smile stays on until the end of his shift, all through the walk back to his dorm, and as he gets out of the shower to sit on the couch. It grows wider when he hears his peep and sees a few messages.

 **Lee Seokmin:** hi this is seokmin!! just got home hope u got home safely too  
**Jeon Wonwoo:** I did. Thanks for checking. I’m about to go to sleep.  
**Lee Seokmin:** oh nice i dont wanna keep u up good night!  
**Jeon Wonwoo:** Good night <3  
**Lee Seokmin:** HJKSFHJS  
**Lee Seokmin:** oops sorry haha i dropped my phone on my nose good night too!

“What’s that smile for?” Soonyoung teases him. The look in his eye is curious, and Wonwoo’s never been one to keep secrets from his best friend.

“Nothing, just something that happened at the store,” Wonwoo grins, laughing at how cute Seokmin was being, and is in general as a person. 

“You saw something weird tonight?” Soonyoung plopping beside him, trying to take a peek at his phone. “Your store is such a hotspot for weird stuff. You should get it exorcised or something.”

“My store is eccentric, not haunted!” Wonwoo tells him, pretending to have a hurt expression on his face. “And mind you, it’s not like you and Junnie haven’t contributed to the weirdness in there.”

Soonyoung smiles as if recalling a pleasant memory. “You know in my next life, I want to be a little hotdog rolling around in a nice, warm hotdog grill in a convenience store.”

Wonwoo can’t tell if he’s kidding or not. Instead, he settles for, “Is that your _thing_ with Junnie? A hotdog kink?”

Soonyoung shoves at him, giggling with his whole body. “Well, at least _I_ have a boyfriend!” Wonwoo pretends not to notice that Soonyoung didn’t even attempt to deny the allegations about him and his said boyfriend.

“Well, I might sorta get one soon,” Wonwoo mumbles looking down at the floor with a small smile. He feels a little greedy wanting to claim so when he and Seokmin haven’t been on their first date yet, but he has a good feeling about Seokmin and he doesn’t want to shy away from it being a possibility. “I don’t know…”

“YOU’RE GONNA GET A MANS?!??!” Soonyoung jumped from the couch, eyes turning up in joy for his best friend. “SOMEONE ACTUALLY ASKED YOU ON A DATE!?!?!!”

Wonwoo grabs a pillow to smack him with. “You say that as if you don’t remember how girls would watch me clean our classroom back in high school! They’d even go up the floor just to see me!”

Soonyoung lets out a laugh that makes him seem he’s more dolphin that tiger, as he claims to be. 

“Oh I’m sure all those pubescent high school girls loved seeing your scrawny ass sweep the floor every Thursday at 3 in the afternoon!” Soonyoung tells him in between facefuls of pillow. “It’s not like they had much of a choice in our high school. Remember my chestnut hair? The most good looking guys at school were you and that CPR dummy we practiced on for health class.”

“Is that why you tried to give it mouth to mouth despite though it was a CPR dummy?” Wonwoo asks, suddenly recalling the scolding Soonyoung got from their teacher and the shrieks and shouts he got for “infecting” the doll. 

“Maybe…” Soonyoung wiggles his eyebrows, completely shameless. “But forget about that. Tell me more about your man!”

Wonwoo chuckles fondly, recalling Seokmin’s Peter Pan costume. “Well, he came in dressed in green tights and a feather hat.”

“That’s cool!” Soonyoung exclaims, “And maybe a little weird. But you like weird things, don’t you Wonwoo? That’s why even though you complain about the _eccentric_ things you see at work, you’re not gonna quit.”

Wonwoo is slightly amused that Soonyoung managed to catch him off guard by tossing him back the word he’d used earlier. “Hmm… Now that you’ve put it that way, I guess so.”

“You’ve been exposed to all the strange things and now you’re strange too!” Soonyoung is gleeful at his revelation. “Strange enough to go out with a guy wearing tights!”

“He was really cute in them,” Wonwoo smiles to himself, fond fond fond. “And he was very nice and had a great smile.”

“Really tho Wonwoo, I’m happy for you!” Soonyoung captures him for a hug, squishing their cheeks together. “You should bag him so that we can go on a double date together with Junnie!”

“I’m sure you’ll all get along swimmingly,” Wonwoo smiles, hugging Soonyoung back. He's smiling so hard that nose stays scrunched up and his cheeks are starting to ache.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

In the grand scheme of things, Wonwoo is thankful he attracts weird things. If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have been able to witness Lee Seokmin in green tights again when they meet on campus for their date.

“I thought you were being serious!” Seokmin whines after changing out of his tights for pants he’d brought in his backpack. _Just in case_ , he’d said. “I was looking forward to seeing you in pink!”

Wonwoo won’t stop laughing and it feels as if his heart is about to grow wings and fly out of his chest.

“You’re so cute!” Wonwoo’s nose scrunches in delight as they continue walking, on their way to the bookstore. Seokmin is pouting at him but immediately turns his frown upside down when Wonwoo takes his hand to lace their fingers together. “I’ll wear pink on our next date if you want…”

“Our next date!” Seokmin says, squeezing their hands together. If Seokmin magically grew a tail to wag in excitement, Wonwoo wouldn’t be surprised. “We haven’t even begun this one.”

“Well, so far I’m already liking this a lot.” Wonwoo admits, cheeks hurting from smiling so much. He’s going to develop smile lines the longer he stays with Seokmin. He hopes that they’ll last for a very long time. “And I have to watch your play. Seungkwan already cornered me the other day about it. I said I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Seokmin pauses in his step and turns to face Wonwoo, pulling him close by the hand. Wonwoo wants to learn every line and mole on Seokmin’s handsome face. And he can because Seokmin doesn’t let go of his hand, warming up Wonwoo’s cool palms until they both reach the perfect in-between.

“I really like you, Jeon Wonwoo,” Seokmin smiles with the light of the sun, winsome and warm, “I really really really really like you.”

“I like you too,” Wonwoo says. “And I especially liked it when I saw you in tights.”

Seokmin laughs, pulling Wonwoo along the narrow streets. Wonwoo feels as if he can go anywhere with Seokmin’s hand in his. Wonwoo feels like the Wendy to Seokmin’s Peter Pan, only without the bittersweet ending, from here on out it’s only the beginning of a happy romance.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaa it's been almost 2 years since i last wrote a seokwoo fic and im glad i was able to write one thanks to this fic fest and op who wrote the prompt. i hope i accomplished it well and made u happy huhu
> 
> im just glad to be writing about my lovely soft boys ♡
> 
> please leave kudos, or a comment, or a bookmark if you'd like. find me on my writing twt [@honeydokyeom](https://mobile.twitter.com/honeydokyeom)
> 
> thanks for reading and i hope u are well and safe! take care ♡


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